Operating system
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An operating system is a set of basic software that allows computers to perform basic tasks for people. It is responsible for displaying the graphics on screen and outputting sound to the speakers, controlling input from the mouse and keyboard, allowing hardware to work properly, interfacing with other computers on a network, and storing and retrieving data. The most common operating systems today are Microsoft Windows, Apple's Mac OS, and Linux / BSD / Tails Anonymous Secure Operating System.
Structure
An operating system is defined into a few basic parts:
- The BIOS, which handles all hardware related things. Often a computer has a BIOS integrated within its hardware, though some operating systems such as Linux are independent of this BIOS.[1]
- The Kernel, which handles all software related things and acts as a interpreter between applications and the hardware.
- The shell or User Interface - Software that draws forms, toolbars, menus, main task bar, typing commands for the computer to execute, etc.
Prescient Quotes on Operating System-level Surveillance
- "The progress of science in furnishing the government with means of espionage is not likely to stop with wiretapping. Ways may some day be developed by which the government, without removing papers from secret drawers, can reproduce them in court, and by which it will be enabled to expose to a jury the most intimate occurrences of the home. Advances in the psychic and related sciences may bring means of exploring unexpressed beliefs, thoughts and emotions. 'That places the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer' was said by James Otis of much lesser intrusions than these. 1 To Lord Camden a far slighter intrusion seemed 'subversive of all the comforts of society.' Can it be that the Constitution affords no protection against such invasions of individual security?"
- Louis Brandeis (1856-1941), United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Dissenting, Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928).
See Also
- Tails Anonymous Secure Operating System
- Apple Computer MacOS for Apple Macintosh
- Mobile devices: Smartphones and tablets
- Apple iOS for iPhone-iPod-iPad
- Android
- Blackberry
- Microsoft Windows Phone with Windows 8
- Censorship: Tools of censorship, Censorability, Fairness Doctrine, Liberal censorship, Media censorship
- Domestic Mass Surveillance of Law-Abiding Citizens: via Utah Data Center, PRISM, NSA-DHS-BATF-FBI-CIA and other Intelligence agencies' Computer surveillance, Eavesdropping, Data mining, Spyware, Wiretap - Roving wiretap, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, NSA warrantless surveillance controversy, National security letter, Patriot Act, NDAA, Executive Orders, United States Census, Common Core, "Stasi"-like secret police "If You See Something, Say Something" informants, and other exponential expansion of the Police State
- Computer Crime and Cyberwarfare:
- Hackers: China, Russia and others
- Bradley Manning - Homosexual Hacker Traitor of State secrets
- Wikileaks and Julian Assange - Australian leftist hacker
Contrast with:
- Security Software and Security-Focused Operating Systems to protect unalienable Fifth Amendment - Fourth Amendment Right to Privacy (Internet privacy, Information privacy, Expectation of privacy) and Second Amendment - First Amendment (Freedom of information and Political freedom) rights against unconstitutional Gun control - Internet censorship Big government Police state, hackers, and "all enemies, foreign and domestic" of American liberty.
- Anonymity with Tails Operating System: Linux-based with Tor (anonymity network), Firefox Iceweasel browser, HTTPS Everywhere encryption
- Prism-Break.org: Opt out of global data surveillance programs like PRISM, ECHELON, XKeyscore and Tempora.[2]
- Open Source Free software not over-priced tracking by Microsoft-Apple-Google-Android
- Secure Communication:
- Encryption: Encryption software, Disk encryption software, LUKS or TrueCrypt instead of Microsoft BitLocker, PGP and GNU Privacy Guard, Data encryption, Public-key encryption, Cryptography-Cryptanalysis-Cryptology-Steganography
- Privacy Resources:
- One Nation, Under Surveillance - Privacy From the Watchful Eye by Boston T. Party
- How to Be Invisible - Protect Your Home, Your Children, Your Assets, and Your Life, by J. J. Luna
- Electronic Frontier Foundation and Electronic Privacy Information Center, Oath Keepers, Judicial Watch
- Freedom of Information Act, Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and Privacy Act of 1974
- Edward J. Snowden Revelations of unconstitutional domestic spying on law-abiding American citizens; GlobaLeaks
External Links
- https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2013/06/10/prism-yes-they-can
- https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2013/05/06/memo-to-the-police-state-progressives-please-let-his-people-go
- https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2012/09/15/no-knock-raid-a-great-video
- https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2014/02/12/amrd-t-a-i-l-s-plastic-gloves-for-your-computer-american-redoubt - Tails operating system
- https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2014/01/29/amrd-introducing-the-tor-browser-bundle/ - Tor browser
- https://prism-break.org/en - "Opt out of global data surveillance programs like PRISM, XKeyscore and Tempora."[3]
- https://www.eff.org - "Leading the fight against the NSA's illegal mass surveillance program"[4]
- https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard
- http://justdelete.me
- http://lifehacker.com/just-delete-me-is-a-massive-list-of-links-to-close-all-1245040101
- Online Guide to Privacy Resources[5]
- http://www.nocards.org - Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email[6]
References
- ↑ http://www.linux.com/base/ldp/howto/Linux-Init-HOWTO-5.html
- ↑ "Help make mass surveillance of entire populations uneconomical! We all have an unalienable right to privacy, which you can exercise today by encrypting your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary products and services."
- ↑ "Help make mass surveillance of entire populations uneconomical. We all have a right to privacy, which you can exercise today by encrypting your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary services."
- ↑ "Organization formed in 1990 to maintain and enhance intellectual freedom, privacy, and other values of civil liberties and democracy in networked communications. Publishes newsletters, Internet Guidebooks and other documents, provides mailing lists and other online forums, and hosts a large electronic document archive. Contact: info@eff.org. 454 Shotwell Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-1914. Tel: (415) 436-9333. Fax: (415) 436-9993. Executive Director: Sheryl Steele."
- ↑ "EPIC was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy issues relating to the National Information Infrastructure, such as the Clipper Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, medical records privacy and the sale of consumer data. EPIC conducts litigation, sponsors conferences, produces reports, publishes the EPIC Alert and leads campaigns on privacy issues. For more information email: epic-info@epic.org, or contact EPIC, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: (202) 483-1140. Executive Director: Marc Rotenberg."
- ↑ "CAUCE is an all volunteer, entirely web-based organization, created by Netizens to advocate for a legislative solution to the problem of UCE (spam). CAUCE began as a discussion group called SPAM-LAW, formed of members who felt that legislation was necessary to stop spam from choking the life out of the Internet. In 1997 CAUCE proposed an amendment to the Federal statute which outlaws junk "faxes" (47 USC 227) to also prohibit junk e-mail, and since then has remained a pre-eminent voice in the anti-spam community. Email: comments@cauce.org. President: Edward Cherlin."